iNACOL Promotes Asychronous Learning

Asynchronous Learning is Applied Using iNACOL Standards

The iNACOL standards for virtual education are designed as a guideline for online schools to follow as they meet the needs of the learners in their community.  They are designed as a guide and not as rules that should be followed indiscriminately. This document begins by explaining its mission.  It boasts a set of quality guidelines for online course content and goes on to define the dimensions of blended learning models. Asynchronous learning is a student-centered teaching method that uses online learning resources to facilitate information sharing outside the constraints of time and place among a network of people.

The Standards of iNACOL are:

A: Content-The course provides online learners with multiple ways of engaging with learning experiences that promote their mastery of content and are aligned with state or national content standards.  Asynchronous course content should be a student-centered teaching method that uses online learning resources to facilitate information sharing outside.  It has been developed with specific goals in mind based upon the intended audience.

B: Instructional Design-The course uses learning activities that engage students in active learning; provides students with multiple learning paths to master; the content is based on student needs; and provides ample opportunities for interaction and communication — student to student, student to instructor and instructor to student.  Built upon the constructivist theory, asynchronous course design is that which users will access at leisure but still remain a part of a learning community.

C: Student Assessment-The course uses multiple strategies and activities to assess student readiness for and progress in course content and provides students with feedback on their progress. Asynchronous interactions promote learning, and can be used to facilitate learning in traditional on-campus education, distance education, and continuing education

D: Technology-The course takes full advantage of a variety of technology tools, has a user-friendly interface and meets accessibility standards for interoperability and access for learners with special needs.  The online learning resources used to support asynchronous learning include email, electronic mailing lists, threaded conferencing systems, online discussion boards, wikis, and blogs. Course management systems such as Campus Cruiser LMS, Blackboard, WebCT, Moodle, and Sakai, have been developed to support online interaction, allowing users to organize discussions, post and reply to messages, and upload and access multimedia.

E: Course Evaluation and Support-The course is evaluated regularly for effectiveness, using a variety of assessment strategies, and the findings are used as a basis for improvement. The course is kept up to date, both in content and in the application of new research on course design and technologies. Online instructors and their students are prepared to teach and learn in an online environment and are provided support during the course.  

 

Reference

iNACOL Offers New Standards for Online Learning. (2011). Electronic Education Report